First Rifle Surprise

H

Higgins

New member
Although I am 30, until today I had never shot a rifle.

(I know, many of you probably can't believe it or will smirk. But, I grew up in the city with nowhere to shoot a rifle; neither I nor anyone in my family has ever hunted; and apart from me, no one in my family has any interest in guns).

For years I have owned and shot handguns of all sorts. Being a city dweller, handguns and the prospect of concealed carry made handguns a natural focus. I never saw the need or practicality of owning a rifle in the city.

A few weeks ago, however, I decided to get a rifle - for whatever reason. Being familiar with handguns and after some research to familiarize myself with rifles, I decided to make my first rifle an SKS - which I purchased this weekend. (I know, not a modern auto-loader, but a good first autoloading rifle, at least IMHO).

Anyway, I took it out shooting at the range today. On the way home I felt differently than previous times when I had just shot one of my handguns. After some thought, I occurred to me that shooting the rifle was a totally different experience. It may sound corny, but unlike with a handgun, with the rifle I felt like a citizen. Apart from the joy of excercising the right to own and fire a rifle, I felt "empowered." It was as if with a rifle I became more of a citizen capable of protecting my self, my home, and my country if necessary. Now I hope I'll never have to use a rifle to defend myself or my home, and I doubt (despite recent events) that I'll ever be needed/called upon to defend this country with my rifle (especially an SKS), but it was a bit of an enlightening feeling that I could. As I've said, these are thoughts I've not had before with handguns. Is it because handguns have such a limited effective range or are lower powered? I don't know.

Just wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that now because I own and shot a rifle once I am somehow an expert marksman or elite commando. Far from it. If anything, I realize how little I know and how much skill being a rifleman takes. It also makes me appreciate more those men who have gone before and served this country with little more than the rifle in their hands. And those who are being called to do so today, including my brother.
 
You made a very good choice in your first centerfire rifle. The SKS is an excellent basic rifle able to take a lot of abuse and neglect (not that you would do either). It's very simple, relatively easy to disassemble and will give you a good base to start from in learning more about rifling. Another good choice would be a .22 long rifle semiauto or bolt action. These are even simpler and easier to handle. They are also considerably cheaper to shoot.

I can certainly understand your feeling when shooting the rifle as compared to handguns. Much like stepping out of a GEO Metro after a drive and then stepping into a Ford F250. A feeling of a huge step in power and (I hate to say it) invincibility. Certainly it's just a state of mind but the feeling is present. Perhaps it's just the more substantual weight, size, and recoil of the rifle that helps convey this feeling.

Oh, now that you have a good rifle to shoot with, you have to get yourself over to Tusco in Midvale and shoot in some of the plate shoots held every month.
 
Congrats on the new rifle. I picked up an SKS about a year ago and its a great rifle for the money. I second Ron's comment about making it to a plate shoot at Tusco. Your SKS will make a fine plate gun.

Also, it would appear that there are several of us here in the Columbus area. I think its time to organize a shoot. Off to L&L I go!
 
Thanks, HKsigwalther and falconer, for your responses. I'd love to attend a plate shoot. Never been to one, but sounds like fun. If you have more information or can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it. Then if I can just think of a reason to get my girlfriend to look the other way so I can get away to Tusco, I'd be set. (She's not exactly a firearms enthusiast).

Also, where do you guys go to shoot your rifle? I belong to a local range, but their rifle range only goes out to about 25 yards. Is there is a longer distance rifle range local to the Columbus/Central Ohio area? I'd like to take the new rifle out and stretch its legs a bit. (Given my novice status, maybe I should get a scope first so the trip would be worth it).

As for the SKS, it ain't pretty and it ain't fancy, but you've got to hand it to the Russians. If you need a firearm that is simple, tough and reliable, then the Russians know how to make them - Makarov, Tokarov, SKS, AK, Nagant, etc....

Thanks.
 
We are a nation of riflemen. Yes, there is a big difference in spending the day at the range with a pistol and a rifle. A scope on an SKS is more trouble than it's worth, IMHO. I'd skip the scope idea and work on mastering the iron sights on the rifle. They will work fine (8"paper plate) out to around 200 yards if you'll do your part. Tusco is the place to go for steel plate fun shoots. Do a search in Lock & Load for more detail about the range. I'll 2nd the idea of a semi auto 22 as your next rifle. Work on the basics with it at the 25yd mark and the skills WILL carry over when you shoot the SKS outdoors. Have fun with your rifle and I hope to see you at Tusco in the spring.
 
Well done.
We need all the help we can get. One word of caution, however.
Rifles are like peanuts, you can't have just one! LOL!:D
 
Different places, different cultures, different viewpoints...

I grew up in a mix of city/country, with my folks living inside Austin, Texas; my grandparents not far out of town on 150 acres and surrounded by similar-sized farms/ranches.

For my buddies, BB guns were a given; .22 rifle ownership was mostly a matter of family economics. A very high percentage of "town kids" had .22s.

Not many bothered with pistols, back in that WW II era. My first Colt Woodsman .22 sorta made me feel "all grown up", at age 16.

And Yanus is absolutely correct: Think peanuts!

:), Art
 
I definately would forgo the scope on the SKS. I had one on mine for a while and it worked great, for a while. If anything, you might want to try replacing the iron sights with a set of williams peep sights. I hear they are pretty decent, one of these days I'll get around to trying them.

I'm not too sure about rifle ranges in the Columbus area. The only one I really know of is the Zanesville Rifle Club. They have a 300yrd range and host high power matches.
 
Higgins, I think your feelings are very common. I think most of us feel that way when we shoot. There is a reassurance that comes from knowing you can make the bullet go where you want it to go. And there is reassurance from knowing that you are taking the time to be responsible in learning to use your weapon properly. Shooting is always a stress-reducer for me.
 
"Put a rifle in the hands of a subject and he immediately becomes a Citizen."

-- Jeff Cooper

'Nuff said. Congrats, rifles have a special appeal that's hard to explain. You might want to try reading "The Art of the Rifle."
 
CONGRATULATIONS!

Any shoulderweapon is a good choice, and if it 'expands' your consciousness, so much the better. Rifle shooting certainly expands my "attitude".....out to at least 500 meters:cool:
Shot my "US Rifle cal 30 M1" yesterday, there were 4 others on the line with the same, plus 2 M14's. Very impressive when we all agreed to do a rapidfire exersise. We were very pleased with ourselves:D
 
Great post, Higgins! Most of what you said could have been written by myself. I too grew up in a non-shooting, non-hunting environment. But buddy, one day God smiled on me and said "Go to Texas". Off to Texas I went....Yee-hah!!The Second Amendment is no obscure concept here.

After owning and shooting pistols for years, I too decided to buy my first rifle. I wanted an AR-15, and after some opinions from the folks here have decided to go with a Bushmaster Carbine. I put some money down, and will probably pick it up in a couple of weeks. If I can wait that long!:D. geegee
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of rifles, Higgins!

The concept of a rifle shoot at the Deleware County range is a good idea. I shoot there regularly, it is a very simple range with some fairly stable benches and a 100 yard range.

It is just a few miles North of the city of Delaware, right on the Delaware County border. You take 23 North from Columbus, going right through Delaware. You turn east (right) on Route 229, as if you were going to Ashley. After turning off Route 23 onto Route 229, you go about a mile and the range is on the right.

This is a state run shooting range, it usually has a state employee running the range. Quite often, while I have been there, no one is in the little office. I haven't been able to shoot much this summer (work), but last year that's the way it was.

You need to have a range permit in order to shoot on the range. If you go left on Route 229 instead of right, about 100 yards on the right is a small shooting/fishing store in the little town of Norton. They will sell you a one day permit if you have an Ohio drivers license.

On the weekends, it is usually pretty busy. It's closed Monday thru Wednesday, so the best days would be Thursday or Friday. It is open until dusk, and I think it opens at 10:00 AM.

Count me in if everyone would like to get together. I have an M1, a SAR3 (AK74 in .223) and several other rifles that some might like to try out. I am sure that I wouldn't mind trying out some of yours, too!

By the way, the Powder Room in Delaware has an indoor, underground 100 yard range they are in the middle of re-conditioning. It has five firing positions. I know the owners (Greybeards, LLC), and have been lucky enough to do some of the testing when it was needed. Awesome!

The range was built many years ago, and the original owner got tired of running the pistol range and store upstairs and trying to keep track of the folks downstairs. Lets face it, if some folks are monitored closely, they do some pretty stupid things! He decided to let the downstairs range go, and being below the water table, over the years it suffered a lot of water damage.

The current owners took over the range just about a year and a half ago. As money and time allow, they are reconditioning it and hopefully it will be in operating condition this winter. If you are in the Powder Room, ask the owners (Dan or Bill, the Greybeards) when the range should be up and running.

I don't know what the cost will be, and I don't know what restrictions there will be in order to keep it safe and in operating condition, but imagine a 100 yard range with no wind to consider!

Later.

Casey
 
Thanks, geegee and biganimal. Good luck with that Bushmaster, geegee. And TropicalZ, no offense with that SKS "ain't pretty" comment. ;) (It's not!) :p But it is beautiful in the simplicity and ruggedness of the design, which I do appreciate.

Whoa, Casey! Thanks for all the great info - directions and all. Saves me mucho time making phone calls and looking up directions on Mapquest. Looks like I will have to make plans for a trip to Delaware County - after I get a scope for the SKS. (Sorry, falconer, but at $30 for a mount and 4x scope, I gotta at least get one and try it out). And like Casey said, if anyone manages to get a shoot together, count me in.

Thanks all.
 
Congrats.

I have an SKS. I call it my "spray and pray" gun. I love it. cheap and fun to shoot.

It is the gun I clean last, because if I'm too tired, it's the one gun that can go uncleaned for a while. It will digest anything, and utterly reliable..

Albert
 
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